History ComicBook / PostCrisis

Some of the changes which occurred Post-Crisis:

This is certainly not the full extent of the changes between pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|On Infinite Earths}} and Post-Crisis, but it does highlight some of the major characters. Additionally, one of the big issues with the Crisis on Infinite Earths was that, initially, almost nobody remembered the details of it, except for the Psycho-Pirate, [[CassandraTruth who was ignored as insane]]. The problem arose, however, that writers didn't necessarily agree on what did or did not happen, which began the cycle anew.

** Speaking of his parents, before the Crisis, Ma and Pa Kent were deceased; some time in UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks, it was revealed that they died of an alien plague that their adopted son couldn't cure. Post-Crisis, both Ma and Pa were alive and well and still a big part of their son's life. They were also ''much'' younger at the time they adopted Clark (Pre-Crisis they were already in their later years) to facilitate the greater impact they had on his adult life.

** Since Wonder Woman had never existed, her [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] protege Donna Troy (who already had a [[ContinuitySnarl/DonnaTroy convoluted backstory]]) was left without a past. Eventually, it was settled that she had been raised and given her powers by the Titans of Greek myth. This worked well until John Byrne, in the ''Wonder Woman'' series, {{retcon}}ned in a bunch of extra stuff, including that she'd been created with a magic mirror as Wonder Woman's playmate, kidnapped by one of Hippolyta's enemies in WW's place, and subjected to repeated reincarnation in tragic lives. This was so complicated that shortly after, they killed her off. With ''Infinite Crisis'', she was brought back with a new origin -- the merging of all possible Donna Troys from the pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|on Infinite Earths}} multiverse.

** Creator/FrankMiller told Batman's new origin in the storyline ''ComicBook/BatmanYearOne'' (as part of the ''Batman'' ongoing series). His backstory was much less altered than Superman's or Wonder Woman's, though his weirder [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] adventures were quietly removed from continuity. The darker [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]] Batman was actually a return to his dark, noir-esque [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] days after the kid-friendly stamp of UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode was dropped by DC (to the consternation of no one). While Batman's character was even further darkened Post-Crisis, it was mostly compatible with the Bronze Age version of the character.

** His relationship with Superman, which pre-Crisis had been one of HeterosexualLifePartners and among the most iconic in the DCU, became much tenser and rather antagonistic, although over the course of the years their friendship redeveloped. Unlike many other changes, however, this had some precedent in a [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]] rift that they never fully resolved. However, the pervasiveness of DependingOnTheWriter stopped it from sticking until the Crisis rewrote the history of their relationship.

** Almost immediately Post-Crisis the humorous ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational'' took place. Notable for two reasons, one being its focus on comedy, the other being its roster. For example the new team had as members ComicBook/BlueBeetle (originally from Creator/CharltonComics), [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] (originally from Creator/FawcettComics), ComicBook/DoctorFate (originally from [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Earth-2]]) and ComicBook/BoosterGold (the very first new character created Post-Crisis). Basically it stood as a way showing off their [[CanonInvasion new continuity]].

** ''Crisis'' killed off Barry Allen, the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] Flash, and left Wally West (formerly Kid Flash) becoming the Flash instead. Unlike many post-Crisis changes, this one didn't rewrite a lot of history, other than having Jay Garrick, the original Flash, exist on the same Earth as Barry and Wally. Jay and Barry's original universe-crossing meeting was {{retcon}}ned, with Jay's city being frozen in time for an unspecified length of time and Barry helping to rescue them.

** The [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] Hawkman's origin was retold in the acclaimed 1989 miniseries ''Hawkworld'', but after it was a success, DC commissioned a ''Hawkworld'' regular series to take place where the mini-series left off, resulting in a total reboot of Hawkman's continuity (a la the post-Crisis reboot of Wonder Woman), despite the fact that the Silver Age Hawkman was already established in post-Crisis continuity. Various workarounds were tried, including a claim that previous appearances had been either the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] Hawkman and Hawkgirl or alien spies. Eventually, these became a ContinuitySnarl that saw every version of the character disappear from Franchise/TheDCU entirely during ''Zero Hour'' - while the Golden Age Hawks were eventually extricated from it, the Silver Age versions are still in limbo.

* {{Franchise/Superman}}

** Prior to the Crisis, Superman had been the character's "real" identity and Clark Kent, uberwimp, was just a convenient disguise. Post-Crisis, this was reversed. Both the glasses and the cape were covers for the "real" Clark Kent, the super-powered Midwestern farmer's son that only his parents were privy to. Both personas grew on Clark since his Man Of Steel origin story (where he had insisted Superman was nothing but a fancy costume), with Kent being a competent, sharp-witted journalist (a far cry from the Pre-Crisis loser) with his own life and friends, and Superman developing important personal friendships with other superheroes, most notably Franchise/{{Batman}}, with whom he had a very different relationship than the pre-Crisis best buds. Likewise, no one suspected that Superman had an alter ego (after all, without a mask, who's to assume he's hiding something?), and Lois Lane was no longer obsessed with discovering his SecretIdentity. In fact she was often much more interested in Clark as he was the only person who ever managed to scoop her. She also was no longer in love with Superman, and instead slowly developed an attraction to Clark during the early '90s.

* Franchise/WonderWoman

* Franchise/{{Batman}}

* {{ComicBook/Robin}}

* The Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica

* Franchise/TheFlash

* Franchise/GreenLantern

* [[{{ComicBook/Shazam}} Captain Marvel]]

The Post-Crisis universe has been rewritten many times since ''Crisis on Infinite Earths''. ''ComicBook/ZeroHourCrisisInTime'', a CrisisCrossover from 1994, was meant to resolve the various inconsistencies that had been introduced since ''[=CoIE=]''; it failed. Later, the concept of {{Hypertime}} was introduced to substitute for the lack of {{Alternate Universe}}s; it failed. The latest CosmicRetcon is ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', bringing back some of the concepts jettisoned in the original.